The primary objective of the Ph.D. program in Biology is to train scientists and scholars who can perceive fundamental biological problems and who are equipped technically to investigate them successfully. Predoctoral students undertake a diversified program of study that includes course work, seminars and laboratory research. Formal courses and seminars are offered in areas of biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, developmental biology, evolutionary biology, molecular biology and neurobiology. Equivalent graduate courses taken prior to entering the graduate program may substitute for one or more of these courses. With the guidance of a faculty advisory committee, all entering students plan a first-year academic program that includes lecture courses, seminars, and laboratory rotations aimed at broadening and strengthening their knowledge in the biological sciences.

After the first year, each student selects a major professor with whom to pursue individual and specialized research in a selected area of biology (see Research Programs). During the second year, students complete their qualifying examinations in which they present and defend their research proposals, thereby being admitted to Ph.D. candidacy. The research proposal will constitute the basis for the Ph.D. dissertation. The Ph.D. degree is awarded following the successful completion of all research work, submission and acceptance of a written Ph.D. dissertation, and oral defense of the Ph.D. dissertation. Students in the Ph.D. program gain instructional experience, usually by teaching undergraduate laboratories. A one semester teaching requirement is normally completed in the second year of the program.